File-cabinet.



0. M. SHANNON.

FILE CABINET..

APPLICATION FILED MAY I3. 1914.

Patented July 13, 1915.

coLuMBIA PLANourzAPH co.. WASHINGTON, D. c.

oscan ivi. SHANNON, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

FILE-CABINET.

mamas.

Application filed May 13, 1914. Serial No. 838,213.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Oso/AR M. SHANNON, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of N ew York, in the' borough of Manhattan and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in F ileCabinets, of which ythe following isa full, clear, and exact'y description.

This invention relates to improvements in iiling cabinetsand the .like adapted for use by architects, engineers andr construction firms, for filing drawings and plans where it is desirable to have a file cabinet of moderate size which may readily be moved from place to place.

In my patent `for a drier cabinet, No. 1,010,694, I disclose a stationary cabinet comprisingv rack-sections, each section of which is supported by rollers from beneath, one pair resting upon the floor and the others upon a trackway supported by the casing of the cabinet. This type of cabinet presents many `desirable features for use in architects oflices and the like, but where moderate-sized cabinets are to be used, it is desirable to mount the same so that they may be conveniently moved from place to Jlace.

l It is therefore the-object of my invention lto provide a construction whereby the front rollers which are adapted to rest on thel iioor in the open position of the sections will be supported off the same when the sections are in their closed position, whereby the rollers supporting the cabinet as a whole may come into play for moving the cabinet without interference from the rollers on the sections, and thus better adapting this type of cabinet for the purposes above stated.

YV ith this object in view, my invention consists in the features of construction and combinations as hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of my improved cabinet with a portion of the casing removed, showing in dotted lines one of the sections pulled out or entended; Fig. 2 is a front elevation with portions shown in section; Fig. 3 is a detail of the support; and Fig. 4 is a section on the line ir-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, I have shown for the purpose of illustration a cabinet substantially similar to the one shown and described in Letters Patent above referred to, but it is not my intention to be limited to this particular construction as the supporting'means is equally applicable to all formsk of cabinets of this general type.

yThe cabinet l made of a size convenient for readily removing it from rplace to place, is .ofsuiiicient height, width and depth't'o re-' ceive ay number of rack-sections 2.' yThese lsections conform to the construction shown in my previous patent in many particulars but instead of the rack-bars for securing the proper rigidity ofthe front and rear walls of the sections, I provide a series of trays 3 made of perforated sheet metal adapted to form convenient receptacles for rolls of blueprints, tracings and the like, and whichk have the additional function of acting 4as braces to secure the necessary rigidity be tween the front and rear walls of the racksections. with rollers 4 and 5 beneath the front and rear ends, respectively. The rollers 5 at the rear ends of each rack-section are constructed of a single piece of material with the middle poftionsy thereof grooved to form a double roller with rolling surfaces at each end. The roller l at the front end of the section may be formed similar to those at the rear end or of any other desirable contour. Preferably they may be provided with rubber tires to eliminate any noise which may be occasioned by the pulling out of a section over a rough floor-surface. Arranged on a platform or` false bottom 6 Vare a series of parallel strips 7 of a width slightly less than the groove in the rear roller. These sti-ius form tracksfor the respective rollers 5, the two rolling surfaces of the roller straddling the strip and being guided thereby. This makes it practically impossible for the racksections to get out of position and interfere with each other as they are being drawn out of or pushed into the cabinet.

The cabinet l is supported near its four lower corners by rollers S which are of the usual swivel type and comprise rollers 9 revolubly mounted in posts 7 which are rotatably mounted in sockets 10. The sockets 10 at the rear end of the cabinet are mounted on a plate 11 which is fastened to the false bottom or platform 6. Fastened underneath and parallel to the front edge of the platform and extending the entire distance between the side walls of the cabinet is the support l2. This supportcomprises f a section 13 resting flat against the platform 6 and is fastened thereto by the fastening These .rack-sections are provided means which pass through the socket 10 of the front set of rollers. A depending section at right-angles to the section 13 connects the same with a third section 1-1 whichy formed in the platefparallel to thev front,

edge of the platform and at a `distance therefrom sufficient to allow the front rollers of each of the raclcsections to rest therein whenI thesesections are in closed position.V

By making the portion 16 adjacent the groove downwardly-slolroing, it will be seen that after the rollers of the rack-sections pass over the beveled portion, the racksections will then have a tendency to continue their movement toward closed position by the force of gravity and onV reaching the groove 15, will drop into the same and be retained thereby in the closed position. By providing this downwardly-sloping portion leading to groove 17, it is apparent that after the rollers have passed over the bev eled portion 13 and are seated in the groove 17, the rebound due to the hasty closing of a section will be unlikely to carry the rollers out of thegroove 17 and up the sloping por.- tion 16. The rack-section if partially dislodged in'this manner would then resume its closed position byy the force of gravity and the necessity for carefully closing the racksections by hand is thereby obviated, it being of course desirable to keep the rack-sections completely closed to prevent the accumulation of dust and dirt on the plans and files.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A le cabinet of the class described, comprising a casing having its bottom raised from the floor and supporting rollers beneath the same, a rack section slidably mounted in thefsaid casing and having a supporting rear roller adapted to ride on said bottom and a supporting front roller extending below` said bottom and adapted to ride on the floor when said section is being opened and closed, and a support carried by said casing arranged in close proximity to the floor and adjacent its lower front edge, upon. which said front roller is adapted tc rest when saidrack section is in closed position.

2. In a storage cabinet of the class described, a rack-section having movable supporting means adapted to rest on the floor when the section is inI open position, a support for maintaining said supporting means oif the floor when the section is in closed position, said support comprising a plat-e in close proximity tothe iioor, the outer portion of said plate being beveled to permit the movable supporting means to readily pass thereover, and means on said plateA for engaging with said supporting means for holding the rack-sections in closed position.

3. In a storage cabinet of the class described, a rack-section having` movable supporting means adapted to rest on the floor when the rack-section is in open position, a support for maintaining said supporting means off the fioor when the section is in closed position, said supportcomprisingA a plate in close proximity to the licor having a beveled portion at its outer end to permit the supporting means to readily pass onto said plate, a downwardly-inclined portion adjacent the beveled portion, a. groove in said plate adjacent the downwardly-inclined portion, said supporting means vengaging with said groove when the rack-section is in closed position.

In witness whereof, l subscribe my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

@SCAR M. SHANNON.. lVitnesses:

TALDO M. Ci-rarrx, IDA M. PATTERSON.

Copies of'ths patentmay-be obtainedfor ve-eents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

